


Find My Way Back To You

by NellyHarrison



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crossover, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-15 08:16:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10553060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NellyHarrison/pseuds/NellyHarrison
Summary: On the list of things Skye expected to happen, finding her soulmate after being caged up and brainwashed by Hydra was not one of them.  Neither was joining the Avengers and fighting a legion of evil death bots, yet here she was, doing just that.





	1. Hardly Conventional

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye gets taken by Hydra while trying to save Lincoln and Mike and turned into a weapon. Definitely not the time or place she expected to meet her soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starts during the end of _Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D_ season 2 episode 19, “The Dirty Half Dozen”, and moves quickly into _The Avengers: Age of Ultron_. There will be some lines/plot from the show and movie, and I do not claim to own any of that. I do claim all of the other stuff, because that came from my imagination. All characters belong to Marvel.
> 
> Tags will be added along the way, since I haven't finished writing this story yet, but I put the warning as it is because I know, at some point, there will be smut. It shouldn't be anything _too_ crazy, but better to be safe than sorry.
> 
> Many thanks to ozhawk (ozhawkauthor on Tumblr) for writing so many great AoS/Avengers crossover that allowed for this plot bunny to appear and encouraging me to let it flourish. I hope you all enjoy!

“Just like old times, huh?”

“Not exactly,” Skye muttered, a bit breathlessly as she rushed out from their cover.  A small smile played on her lips as she lifted her hand and sent a shockwave that knocked their enemies flying through the air.  Through the glass of the next door room, Dr. List watched her, his eyes wide with a lust for her power.  The bionic man and the boy with electricity were helpful, but with her abilities, Skye was a much more valuable asset.

Grant stood in slight awe as he moved away from their cover and looked her over.  “So that’s what happened in Puerto Rico...”  He met her eyes briefly before she returned her attention to adjusting her gloves.  “The least you could do is thank me.”

“How about I just don’t try to kill you again,” she retorted snarkily, then rushed towards the holding cells.  Mike was found, and her section of the team went to work with helping him while she ran off to find Lincoln.  She imagined him mangled and torn apart like she had learned had happened to her mother and she knew she had to act fast.  Just as she found the room where he was to be operated on, she heard a gun cock and the barrel pressed against the back of her head.

“I’ll make you a deal,” a voice said, and she darted her eyes to the side to see Dr. List with a few of his cronies behind him, all of whom pointing guns at her as well.  “I will stop my people from hurting your friend in there if you come with me now.  Compliance will be rewarded, I assure you.”

“Why should I believe you?” she asked, her eyes looking back at Lincoln as doctors prepped him for surgery.

“If you do not do as I say, you will both die.  At least if you agree to come with me, he has a chance of survival,” List pointed out.  “What will it be?”

Skye paused, weighing the options and considering the possible outcomes.  She could try to fight, but she had a feeling if she even tried to use her powers, she would be taken out.  She needed to give Lincoln a chance.  Hopefully her team would find him and make sure he made it out and back to Afterlife.  “Fine.  Make them stop now, before I go anywhere.  I need to know that you won’t hurt him,” she insisted.

With a nod, List gestured for one of his guards to stop the doctors, and Skye waited until they had all stepped away and began putting away their tools.  “Let’s go, girl,” he ordered, pressing against her back with the gun until she started moving where two of the guards began to lead.  They didn’t stop walking until they’d made it into a plane, where Skye was promptly knocked out.

When she woke up, she was strapped to a chair, a television in front of her displaying shifting designs and colors that were nearly blinding.  She squinted and tried to turn her head from it but found she couldn’t move.  Soon enough, her eyes were forced and taped open.  She had heard about this machine, and despite her training, she felt panic set in.  “No!  You can’t do this!  I came with you, as you asked.  You don’t have to brainwash me!” she insisted.  Of course, List didn’t seem to agree, and the process began.  It felt like she was stuck in that chair for weeks.  She couldn’t close her eyes, but she tried to fight the hypnosis as long as she could.  Unfortunately, like all others, fighting was futile, and by the time they were done with her, she was happy to comply.

With the process completed, and they had a perfectly docile, gifted slave, she was brought to a cage to be kept.  Twice a day, she was brought out to practice her skills, and experiments were made in an attempt to understand her powers as well as try to improve them.  There wasn’t much to do for the latter, as her powers were not made like many other gifted individuals.  She was different, and Strucker found that it was best to put energy into developing her skills instead.  When she wasn’t training, she remained in her cage, waiting for instruction.  It was dull, most of the time, but her orders were to stay there and wait, and she could do nothing but obey.

Part of her wondered how long it had been since she had been brought into the fold.  She avoided thinking about her team or others like her in Afterlife, as those memories interfered with her brainwashing.  They were still there, but they didn’t change who she was now.  Gone was Skye, Agent of SHIELD.  All that remained was Skye, asset to Hydra and protector of her masters.  She accepted it, which she assumed had come with her new programming, but that was also something she tried not to think about.

As the days began to melt together, she began to long for some change of pace, whether it be a mission or a new task to add to her day.  In the fortress, someone could hear her wishes, and the next day, she and her brother decided to pay the new addition to Strucker’s small, gifted army a visit.

Skye sat on her bed, doing as she always did when she was stuck in her cage: staring at a wall.  The least they could do was give her a book, but she was not allowed to make requests.  Footsteps approached, and she looked up to see a young woman about her height walking towards her cage.  She stood up, wondering if she was some higher up member of Hydra that she hadn’t met yet.

“No, I am not Hydra,” the woman stated with a distinct accent.  Skye’s eyes widened at the realization that she had read her mind.  “Do not be alarmed.  I am like you.  Gifted, just with other abilities.  My name is Wanda.”

“Skye,” she replied, still in slight disbelief.  “Did you go through the mist?”

Wanda focused, for a moment, contemplating the question before answering, “No, I did not.  Our skills came by other means.”

Skye’s eyebrows furrowed before she repeated, “‘Our’?”  Suddenly there was a blur flashing past the two of them.  Her eyes tried to follow it before they landed on a guy leaning casually against a nearby desk.  “Someone should put a bell on you,” she muttered, a small laugh escaping her.  She expected the two of them to join her, but they both gaped, staring between themselves and then at her.  “What?  That couldn’t possibly be the first time someone’s made that joke.”

“I think that my services could be better used elsewhere,” Wanda decided, trying her hardest not to smile but ultimately failing.  “I will let you two get to know each other.”

“Alright, what did I say that was so wrong?” Skye finally asked after Wanda was out of sight.

“I am rather certain saying my words is hardly ‘wrong’,” he replied, chuckling when her eyes got comically large.  He reached down for the hem of his shirt and lifted it, exposing his chiseled abs with her handwriting scribbled just below his belly button.  “May I see your mark?”

She was still in shock, but she stepped closer and lifted her own shirt, showing off the words that had appeared on her when she was a baby.  “You know, I imagined a million scenarios where you and I would meet, but this was not one of them.”  Her hand gripped a bar on the cage, wishing the metal was not stopping her from getting closer to her soulmate.

“I think that is perfectly understandable,” he muttered, stepping closer and covering her hand with his.  “This is hardly a conventional way to meet, but from what I have learned about you and what I know about me, perhaps conventional was never in the cards for us.”

A small laugh escaped her, her head nodding as she turned her hand and laced her fingers with his.  “Can you tell me more about you?  I feel like I’m at a disadvantage here.  The only thing I know is that you’re apparently not Hydra and you are really fast, which I’m hoping comes in handy in other aspects of your life.”  It was Pietro’s turn to laugh, and he bowed his head to kiss her knuckles.  “I don’t even know your name.”

“Pietro.  My name is Pietro Maximoff,” he told her.  “And that was my sister, Wanda.  She and I were given our powers by Strucker through experimentation.  We volunteered in order to protect ourselves and our people from the violence that has been destroying our country.  It sounds a little extreme but-”

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” she assured him, shaking her head.  “You’re not exactly the first person to subject themselves to experimentation in the hopes of providing security for the ones they care about.  I think it’s a noble cause.”

He smiled down at her, reaching up with his other hand to reach through the cage to cup her delicate face.  “I feel so blessed to have a soulmate who is understanding, gifted, and breathtakingly beautiful.”

“And smart.  You should see what I can do with a computer,” she added, a bright smile matching his.

“Well I already knew you had a smart mouth.  I have had the words marked on me my entire life to prove it,” he joked, chuckling when she feigned being insulted.  “I wish I could kiss you.”

“Glad I’m not the only one thinking it.  I haven’t had a problem with this cage up until this very moment,” she admitted, sighing softly as she leaned into the hand cupping her cheek.  “When everything settles down, and I am allowed out of here for more than just training, expect the kiss of your life.”

His thumb brushed against her cheekbone as he felt a rush of want at her words.  “I will hold you to that, _моја друга половина_.”  


* * *

_моја друга половина_  - my other half  



	2. Prisoner's Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers attack the base that Skye has been held, and she soon finds herself with a difficult decision to make that could affect her and Pietro's future together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so much of this story already written that I should be able to post every couple of days. Right now I have eleven completed chapters, and I'm figuring out how much more I should put into it. I basically cover the entire movie, but if there's something from the show that you would like to see, let me know!
> 
> As always, the characters and some of the plot/dialogue belongs to Marvel. Everything else comes from my own imagination. Thanks again to ozhawk for encouraging this writing endeavor!

The day the Avengers came, everything changed.  She could hear the destruction in the distance, and while something deep down in her wanted to go out and fight, all she could do was wait.  Skye knew she could be helpful in the fight against the Avengers, and she voiced as much when List released her from her cage only to give her strict instructions to defend him and Strucker against any threat.  As she entered the main room, where Hydra soldiers were running around preparing to fight, she saw Pietro.  They made eye contact, and it took everything in her not to run into his arms and follow through on the promise she had made when they met.  Unfortunately, she had orders, so she remained by Strucker and List’s side, silent and alert.

As Strucker and List discussed the possibility of sending the twins out into the field, Skye found her facade cracking a bit.  In addition to having an already solid bond with Pietro, she had grown quite fond of Wanda as well.  The idea of them going out there without her to back them up worried her, but she had to stay with Strucker and List.  She met Pietro’s eyes once more as the two Hydra leaders conversed, her head nodding as they made their way towards the door.  He would be careful, and when this was all over, they would be together.  They didn’t have to say as much through words, but from the look in his eyes, he shared the sentiment.

When List noticed the twins were gone, Strucker ordered her to stay by his side as List went to delete everything.  She did as she was told, looking up when she heard the shield fail.  They would be coming, so she prepared herself for a fight.  Strucker led the way, bounding up stairs as she followed, her orders to remain unseen unless ordered otherwise.  As he reached the landing, a guard fell before him, Captain America strolling through the doorway and towards him.

“Baron Strucker.  Hydra’s number one thug.”

“Technically, I’m a thug for SHIELD,” Strucker retorted, his eyes meeting Skye’s as she inched up the stairs behind Captain America.

“Well, then technically you’re unemployed,” the Captain stated.  “Where’s Loki’s sceptor?”

Strucker sighed, playing it as if he didn’t have a gifted woman ready to protect him.  “Don’t worry.  I know when I’m beat.  You’ll mention how I cooperated, I hope.”

“I’ll put it right under ‘illegal human experimentation’,” he snarked back.  “How many are there?”

She had no idea Wanda had joined them, and with one quick blast, Captain America was sent down the stairs.  Skye barely had enough time to get out of the way, but once she had, she shot out a shockwave sending him further away from Strucker.  She scrambled up the stairs, preparing to protect Strucker more effectively as Captain America detailed her and Wanda’s presence to his team over the comms.

“I don’t want to fight you, ma’am.  But I can’t let him get away with what he’s done,” he warned as he approached, Skye standing firm between him and Strucker.

“You’re a soldier, Captain.  Even you know that orders must be followed,” she replied, shooting a shockwave towards him.  He lifted his shield in record time, and the vibranium ricocheted it back onto her, sending her back against the wall.  She groaned before calling out as Strucker was knocked out.  “You will regret that,” she snapped, standing back up and getting into a fighting stance.

“Please don’t make me hurt you,” he requested, placing his hands up before engaging with her as she charged.  They battled for a few minutes, but she was no match for him.  He was enhanced in his own way, and her powers were useless as each blast bounced off of his shield.  In the end, she was knocked out too and taken as a prisoner like Strucker.

Not for the first time, Skye woke up in an unfamiliar location.  However, unlike the last time, she found herself laying on a bed.  She was in a cell, but it wasn’t what she would expect from a prison.  It reminded her of the Cage back on the Bus, with specially engineered walls to contain her and possibly minimize her powers.  She sat up and attempted to use her powers to test her theory, but nothing happened.  On her wrists were two silver bracelets which had not been there before.  She furrowed her eyebrows, then came to the conclusion that they must be somehow stopping her from using her abilities.  As she came more aware of herself, she gasped when she thought of her soulmate.  “Pietro,” she breathed, standing and moving towards the walls.  “Let me out of here!  Hello?  You can’t keep me here!”

A door that she had not been aware was there swung open, and Captain America entered.  “Actually, here is much better than where we should have locked you up.  It’s definitely better than where Strucker is right now.”

“Where am I?” she asked, clenching her jaw as she glared at him.  “Why can’t I use my powers?”

“Where you are doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you’re safe and you’re out of Hydra’s reach.  I would think you would be grateful for that, Agent Skye,” he stated, crossing his arms over his chest.  Her eyes widened, clearly surprised he knew who she was.  Well, who she had been before Hydra got their hands on her.  “Coulson can continue pretending he’s dead all he wants.  We know the truth.  We’re a little offended he thought we wouldn’t find out eventually.”

“I don’t care about Coulson or SHIELD.  I’m not an agent anymore.  I am meant to protect Strucker and List, and I can’t do that from in here,” she practically growled.

“Well then I’m afraid you’ve lost your purpose.  List and Strucker were both taken down during the battle and put behind bars with the rest of the Hydra agents we captured.  You’re a free woman again, Skye.  You get to decide what happens next,” he told her, unfolding his arms.  “Either you stay in a cell for the rest of your life, or you decide to join the right side of this war.  You have an amazing gift, and it’s clear that you were a good person before Hydra brainwashed you.  You could return to SHIELD if you so desired, but I think you could do even more good with the Avengers.  Of course, you won’t be able to join us in the field until you’ve proven you’re trustworthy, but it’s a much better deal than the former, if you ask me.”

Skye exhaled heavily as she stepped back before sitting on her bed.  “I…  I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.  “All I know is that I can’t stay here.  My- There’s someone out there that I need to find.”

“And who would that be?” he inquired, remaining where he was to give her the room she clearly needed to come to terms with what was happening.

She looked up at him, gauging if she could trust him.  The brainwashing that still lingered in her told her he couldn’t be, but there was a part of her, a part that was growing larger with every passing minute, that told her she could.  “My soulmate, Pietro Maximoff.”

“Your soulmate is the fast guy?” he asked, his eyebrows raising.  “You’re kidding, right?”

“Why would I joke about something like this?” she snapped, then sighed.  “We met when I was locked up at the fortress.  We realized who we were to each other, and we promised to be together when everything calmed down.”

“You do realize he was voluntarily working with Hydra, right?”

“Of course I know that,” she grumbled, brushing her hair back.  “But last I checked, volunteering to try to protect your country was something _you_ know all about, Captain America.”

Steve gave her a look, then nodded.  “You’ve got me there,” he gave in.  “And you can just call me Steve.  Either way, we don’t know where he is, and I can’t just let you go.  Not yet, anyways.”

“When?  When can I leave?” she asked, her voice a bit softer.  “All I care about is finding and being with him.”

“Then I suggest you prove to us that you can be trusted.  Your best chance of getting out of here is joining us, and I hope you do.  Being on the receiving end of your abilities was rough, but I think watching you at work and having you fighting by my side would be a real honor,” he admitted, managing a small smile.  “I’ll leave you to think it over.”  With a nod from her as acknowledgement, he walked back out how he’d come in.

While she was in her cell, she was treated rather well.  She was brought regular meals, allowed to shower in a room across the hall, and even given books to entertain herself.  She didn’t do too much reading though, most of her time consumed with thinking over what she should do.  Steve had said she could return to SHIELD, but she wouldn’t have the freedom or resources to find Pietro.  She knew that Pietro would come after the Avengers again.  While it would mean they would be on opposite sides, joining with them was her best chance at finding him again.  Once she had, they could figure out what to do next.  All that mattered to her was that she found him.

When Steve returned to her cell a few days later, she had made her decision.  He had barely walked inside before she was standing and holding out her hand.  “I’m in.”


	3. New Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye shares introductions with the Avengers and is initiated onto the team. She soon finds solace and friendship in someone surprising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This rate seems to be working well for me, and I have plenty of chapters written that this week of classes shouldn't affect the rhythm. Once again, if you have anything from Agents of SHIELD that you want to see brought into this fic, let me know! I might break it off from canon after a certain point if I find a plot line that interests me.
> 
> As always, the characters and some of the plot/dialogue belongs to Marvel. Everything else comes from my own imagination. Thanks again to ozhawk for encouraging this writing endeavor and thanks to everyone that's been reading so far. Enjoy!

The first step after agreeing to join the Avengers was meeting them all.  It turned out that Steve had been the biggest advocate for her membership on the team, and while a vote had been made that sided with him, there were some that were still wary.  As she was escorted from her cell into the main common room, she suddenly felt like she had that first day walking onto the Bus.  Joining a team was always hard, especially when that team was already so strong and well-established.  Once she entered the room, she slipped her hands into her pants pockets, managing a small smile as she looked around the room.

“So, uh, I don’t know how much you guys actually know about me,” she admitted, feeling a bit intimidated by the group of heroes before her.  “My name is Skye.  At least that’s the name I gave myself.  My birth name was Daisy Johnson, but I prefer Skye.  I was recruited as a consultant to SHIELD and eventually became an agent.  Of course, that day, SHIELD fell.  Just my luck, right?” she joked, laughing dryly before trailing off when no one seemed to join her.  “Not too long ago, I went through something called the mist, which gave me my powers.  It’s a bit of a long story, which I’ll happily share to anyone that’s interested, but all you need to know is that my powers were something that were already sort of inside me.  Going through the mist only brought them out.  I eventually became seen as a threat by my team, but I learned how to control them when I was taken to a place full of others like me.

“I had every intention of returning to SHIELD once I was fully ready and using my skills to help keep the world safe, but then I was taken by Hydra.  Well, ‘taken’ isn’t exactly right,” she admitted, looking down for a moment.  “I left a base with them in order to save a friend.  It was a decision I made, thinking that I would be able to escape once I went with them, but then they brainwashed me.  None of you have to worry about that, of course.  I had been given orders to protect Strucker and List, and with them out of the equation, I have been able to break the brainwashing enough to make my own decisions.  The first decision I made was joining you guys, but I want to be honest.  I’m doing this to find Pietro, and that’s my main goal.”

“Rogers mentioned that Roadrunner was your soulmate,” Clint stated.  “How do we know you’re not lying?”

“Well I can’t exactly prove it without Pietro here,” she pointed out, lifting her shirt, “but these were the first words he spoke to me.  You don’t have to believe me, but I’m being as honest as possible here.  I will work beside you guys as long as it takes for me to find Pietro.  I won’t work against you, but I know that the twins have it in for the Avengers.  Specifically you, Stark.”

“Me?  What the hell did I do?” he asked.  “I mean ‘heck’.  Sorry Cap.”  Steve rolled his eyes, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reply.

“They lost their parents and almost themselves because of bombs you created,” she told him, her tone steady.

“That part of the company was never my life,” Tony stated with a bite to his words.

“I believe you, but they will take some convincing.  I’m willing to help with that, because I think you guys are trying to do the right thing,” she assured them.  “Hydra has no place in this world.  While Pietro and Wanda partnered with them, it was more like a means to an end than believing in the philosophy Hydra promoted.”

Around the room, the members of the Avengers looked at each other, trying to see what they all thought.  In the end, it was Natasha that stepped towards her and held out her hand.  “Welcome to the team.”

“Seriously?” Skye muttered, her eyes widening slightly.

“Expect us to keep asking questions, and for us to continue being cautious, especially if we ever enter the field with you.  Other than that, you’ve at least won me over.  I know how valuable a soulmate is, and I won’t see someone else miss out on being with theirs,” she decided, her words stirring confusion in Skye.  Another time, she’d have to ask about it.  For now, she just shook her hand and managed a small smile.  Each member of the team followed, properly introducing themselves and welcoming her to the team with a shake of the hand.

With that out of the way, most of the group dispersed, leaving Skye to try to comprehend what had just happened.  She was an Avenger, at least on a trial basis.  If ten-year-old Skye could see her now, working on the same team as Iron Man and Captain America, she would probably faint in shock.  The next twenty-four hours were a bit of a whirlwind.  She was introduced to JARVIS and brought to her new apartment, which was much better than her cell and about ten times the size of her room back at the Playground.  It would take her some time to get used to it, but she figured it was better than staying in the cell.

The night after she joined the team found her at a classic Tony Stark party, the Avengers, their friends, and other part-time teammates wandering around and having a good time.  She felt a little out of place, not knowing anyone well enough to feel comfortable joining in on conversations.  Instead of awkwardly watching everyone else have fun, she stood off to the side, looking out the window at the city below them.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”  Skye turned and watched Sam Wilson joining her.  The man reminded her an awful lot of Tripp, which both comforted her and hit her with a pang of sadness.

“Yeah.  Kind of crazy considering the state it was in a few years ago,” she muttered, then faced him with her hand out.  “I’m Skye.”

“I know.  Steve told me all about the girl who knocked him on his ass in Sokovia.  Of course, he didn’t use such strong language,” he added jokingly, eliciting a small laugh.  “Not much for parties?”

“Usually, I’m fine.  There have just been a lot of changes in my life the last few weeks.  I’m just trying to keep my head above water,” she admitted with a soft sigh.

“I can understand that.  Being in this world can be crazy, but I think if you couldn’t handle it, Steve wouldn’t have been so adamant to bring you on board,” he replied, causing her to look up at him curiously.  “I think he’s trying to make amends through you too, but don’t tell him I said that.”

“Amends?  Amends for what?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Have you heard anything about the Winter Soldier?”

Skye nodded, thinking back to some of the intel that had been released when SHIELD fell.  “Yeah, he was Hydra’s greatest asset.  Last I heard, he disappeared after the battle at the Triskelion.”

“He did.  Normally, we wouldn’t bat an eye, but the Winter Soldier is someone from Steve’s past,” he told her.  “How much do you know about Steve?”

“An embarrassing amount, actually, which I expect you to keep to yourself,” she requested, causing him to chuckle.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me,” he assured her.  “So I take it you know who Bucky Barnes is.”

“Of course I do.  He was one of the Howling Commandos and Captain America’s best friend.  He was the only one of the Commandos to die in combat,” she summarized, remembering learning all about it as a kid.

“Yeah, that’s what we thought too,” he commented, looking out the window.

Skye glanced at him curiously before her eyes widened as the realization hit her.  “Bucky is the Winter Soldier.”

“Uh huh.  Not too sure how he managed to stay alive all this time, but we figure it had to be cryogenics,” he explained.  “He was brainwashed too, with his memories wiped enough that he didn’t even know his own name when Steve realized it was him.”

“Wow…” she exhaled, shaking her head a bit.  “So by saving me and turning me from a weapon into a teammate, Steve thinks-”

“He thinks it’s a good first step while we’re still trying to find Bucky.  If you can find a place on the team, then I think he hopes once Bucky’s found, he could find a place here too,” Sam finished for her.  “No pressure or anything.”

She laughed at that, looking back out at the city before replying, “Yeah, no pressure at all.”  They both remained quiet for a few moments as they let their conversation sink in a little.  “I don’t want to let him down, but I already told him, I’m here to find my soulmate.”

“I think he understands that.  Steve’s usually very centered and realistic, but he hopes for things like the rest of us too.  I don’t want you to think that just because he has this idea in his head that you have to follow it,” he insisted, turning towards her and putting a hand on her shoulder.  “You do whatever works best for you.  Steve’s a big boy.  If it doesn’t work out, that doesn’t mean he won’t still try to make Bucky an Avenger when the time comes.”

A small smile brushed her lips at that, her hand reaching up to cover his.  “I have a feeling there’s nothing Captain America can’t do once he’s set his mind on it.  Guess I’m lucky to have him in my corner.”

“We all are.”


	4. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye discovers something about herself that shocks her team. Ultron makes his presence and plan known, not only to the Avengers, but to the Maximoffs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit shorter than the others, but a lot of it can be seen in the movie. I am assuming most of you have watched _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ , but on the off-chance you haven't, I will add a tag and a warning here that there will be spoilers.
> 
> As always, the characters and some of the plot/dialogue belongs to Marvel. Everything else comes from my own imagination. Thanks again to ozhawk for encouraging this writing endeavor!

The party had winded down, most of the guests heading home, leaving the main Avengers and some close partners sitting around in a circle.  Skye had been brought in too, at Natasha’s encouragement, and was sitting with an amused smile as the subject of Mjolnir was brought up.  She couldn’t help but laugh as Clint mocked the decree that apparently came with the hammer, then watched with amusement as he tried, and failed, to lift it.  This turned into a bit of a game, each Avenger taking a turn trying to lift it.  Skye continued sitting, utterly entertained by the silliness of each attempt.  Her eyes did widen a little when Steve tried and managed to shift it just slightly.  A small snort escaped her when she saw Thor’s momentary panic.  When everyone looked at Natasha, she found herself smirking at her reply, only for it to slip when the attention turned to her.

“Me?  Please.  If Captain America couldn’t lift it, I don’t stand a chance,” she declared, shaking her head with a small laugh.

“Come on, Skye.  We all tried,” Steve encouraged.  “Go ahead.”

“Yeah, you’d make a much better queen of Asgard than Louis de Pointe du Lac over there,” Tony added, nodding for her to get up and try.

“Seriously, Stark?   _Interview with a Vampire_?” Clint teased, but Tony ignored him.

“Fine, fine, but nothing’s going to happen,” Skye insisted, shaking her head and walking over to Mjolnir.  She wrapped her hands around it and could sense its vibrations.  It was powerful, and different from most other substances.  She focused, trying to change the frequency as she had been taught.  When the hammer began to move, lifting off of the table just a little bit, she was so shocked, she lost focus and it dropped back onto the table.  She looked up and saw surprised expressions on everyone’s faces.  “I, uh, that was a fluke?”

“Mjolnir does not have ‘flukes’, Lady Skye,” Thor declared, standing and lifting up Mjolnir completely.  “The rest of you are all simply not worthy,” he teased, lightening the mood a little bit.

Just as everyone was groaning at the comment, a loud, ear-splitting shriek of a noise filled the room.  Soon after, a scraping, shuffling sound came towards them, and they watched a zombie-like robot join them.  It began talking, and Skye got a terrible feeling deep in her stomach.  Something was seriously wrong, and as the Avengers spoke to the robot, it became very clear what had happened.  She didn’t know what Ultron was, but Bruce and Tony obviously did.

All at once, other parts of the Iron Legion began attacking them.  Each member had their way of battling the robots, and Skye had hers.  She used her shockwaves to send the robots against walls and away from her.  It seemed like every member of the team had an opponent, which was better than being outnumbered, but they had all been caught off-guard.  When she wasn’t blasting robots away, she was keeping an eye on her team, calling out warnings to those that needed them.  “Steve!” she called out once he had his shield, sending one of the bots in his direction for him to shatter it.

It didn’t take long before most of the Legion was brought down, but the one reanimated one remained, mocking the team and then threatening their very existence.  He didn’t just threaten to kill them, he threatened to bring about the extinction of the Avengers.  Thor quickly sent his hammer through the robot which allowed a moment of relief, but the eerie last words it sounded sent chills down her spine.

As the team reconvened in the lab, Skye remained quiet and to herself.  It wasn’t the first time she had seen battle, but there was something very dark about what they were now facing.  Part of her wanted to get in touch with SHIELD and warn them about what was happening, but she hadn’t contacted them since being freed from Hydra’s grasp.  Besides, as the conversation progressed, it was clear that the team wanted nothing to do with what SHIELD had been before its fall.  Layer upon layer of secrets were what made SHIELD so susceptible to Hydra’s invasion.  Total honesty was what this team clearly valued and hoped to keep them from making the same mistake.

A sinking feeling hit Skye when they realized the “other guy” that Ultron had killed was JARVIS.  The AI had been vital to their operation, but more than that, he had been the first line of defense.  He could have been the one thing that could take Ultron down, and him being destroyed meant they were left without that security.  The arguments that followed sunk into the background for her as the hacker in her wondered if she could find a way to stop Ultron herself.  She clued back into the conversation when the Battle of New York was brought up.

“Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?” Tony asked.

“No, it’s never come up,” Rhody replied sarcastically.

“Saved New York.  Recall that?” Tony continued, his tone rising.  “A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space.  We’re standing three hundred feet below it.”  He paused, the memories of that day weighing on everyone in the room.  “We’re the Avengers.  We can bust arms’ dealers all the live long day, but that up there.  That’s the endgame.”

Skye knew he was right.  Their team had barely made it through the Battle of New York.  If they were attacked by something like that again, the chances of them making it out alive and saving the world were slim.  Having something that could protect the world, in case they couldn’t, wasn’t necessarily a bad idea.  But he was missing one very big issue.  “The problem isn’t Ultron itself, Tony.  It’s that you created him using an object that is uncontrollable.  An object that has already done a lot of damage to this world.”

“Well how else were you guys planning on beating that threat?” he asked, looking around at everyone in the room.

“Together,” Steve replied, as if it was the most obvious answer.

“We’ll lose.”

“Then we’ll do that together too,” he added.  It was in that moment that Skye knew that whatever came next, she would stand by the Avengers.  She just hoped that doing so wouldn’t mean losing her soulmate.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Sokovia, the twins entered the church at the center of the city.  There, they met a being that took them both by surprise.  Wanda didn’t like that she couldn’t see into Ultron’s mind, because it meant she couldn’t see his true motives.  However, she couldn’t help but deny she liked the idea of taking out the Avengers.

When they saw the operation Ultron had up and running, they grew a bit more certain that the robot could achieve the goal he claimed to have in mind.  He began talking about the big picture, looking beyond killing the Avengers, to which Pietro replied, “I don’t see the big picture.  I have two little pictures.”  They talked about their parents, and how a Stark bomb took them away from the twins.  The terror of staring at the second shell for days, waiting for it to go off, still haunted them both.

“I wondered why only you two survived Strucker’s experiments.  Now I don’t,” Ultron commented.  “What is the second picture?”

Pietro’s jaw clenched as he brought back the second memory that was driving him forward in his mission to take down the Avengers.  “After Tony Stark took the scepter, I took Wanda away from the fortress.  Far enough away to not be seen but still close enough to watch them pack up.  It was too far away, I realize now, for if I were closer, I might have been able to stop them from kidnapping my soulmate.  My second picture is of my _Ские_ , unconscious in Captain America’s arms, being carried into their jet and taken away from me.”

“We will make it right, and we will get her back,” Ultron promised.  He looked at Pietro as he said, “You and I can hurt them,” then turned to Wanda as he continued, “but you will tear them apart from the inside.”

* * *

 _Ские_ \- Skye  



	5. Mission Accomplished, But Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finally reaches out to her old team at SHIELD, and the Avengers take a trip to visit Ulysses Klaue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am _so_ sorry for the delay on this chapter. I have a late class on Thursdays and the past few days have been full of friends and family coming home for Easter. I finally got the time to sit down and finish editing the chapter so I could post it. I really like this chapter and I hope you'll enjoy it as well.
> 
> As always, the characters and some of the plot/dialogue belongs to Marvel. Everything else comes from my own imagination. Thanks again to ozhawk for encouraging this writing endeavor!

The team broke off into different factions as they tried to figure out what to do next.  Skye returned to her room, deciding now was as good a time as ever to get in touch with her team at SHIELD.  She had been given a state of the art tablet from Tony, and with it, she managed to connect to the SHIELD video line.  Hopefully someone would answer.

“Skye?!” she heard first, looking down at the screen with a smile as she saw Coulson appear.  “You’re alive!”

“Hey DC.  Yeah, I’m alive,” she nodded, then laughed softly when a bunch of other faces filled her screen, all familiar and all making her miss them terribly.  “Now, I find it hard to believe that you guys couldn’t be off doing something more important,” she teased.

“We were just having a debrief,” Coulson explained.  “Where are you?  Where have you been?  Are you okay?”

“One question at a time, Coulson.  Give the girl time to process them,” May scolded, shaking her head.

“I’m fine,” she started with first.  “Back at the Hydra base, List caught me right before I was about to get Lincoln.  He gave me a choice: go with him and save Lincoln or we both die.  I ended up getting brainwashed like Agent 33 and Donnie Gill, but I’m okay now.  I, uh, I was saved by the Avengers.”

“The Avengers?” Fitz repeated, his gape reflecting everyone else’s.  “Are you with them now?”

“I am.  I’ve joined their team, at least for the foreseeable future,” she admitted.

“You haven’t told them…?” Coulson started, but stopped when he saw Skye’s awkward expression.

“They already knew.  You should probably contact them either way.  Pretending you’re dead is kind of a waste of time, and it might be smart to coordinate jurisdictions in the future,” she suggested with a small smile.

“Skye, when you say you joined their team, does that mean you’re not coming back?” Jemma piped in, her voice a little hesitant.

Skye sighed, looking at her old team as she thought about her new one.  “I know that you guys didn’t mean anything bad by it, but when I got my powers, you isolated me.  I don’t blame you, I swear, but the Avengers…  They accept me.  They want to see me reach my potential _with_ my powers.”

“We want to see that too, Skye,” May stated, trying to hide her disappointment.

“I know, and I’m not saying I don’t want to work with you guys ever again, but right now, the Avengers are who I need to be working with.  They’re my best chance at getting what I’m looking for,” she admitted.

“And what is that?” Bobbi asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Not really a ‘what’ as much as a ‘who’,” she corrected.  “I found my soulmate.”

“Did you really?” Jemma asked, clearly excited by this new development.  “Oh Skye, that is simply wonderful.  Who is it?”

“His name is Pietro,” she told them, smiling softly.  “He was…  Well, he was working with Hydra when we met, but he was only doing it to protect his people.  He’s enhanced, and so is his sister.  They sort of kept me from going crazy from boredom while I was stuck in a cage.”

“You’re sure you can trust him?  He worked with Hydra.  Last I checked, Hydra were still the bad guys,” Hunter pointed out.

“He isn’t Hydra though.  He just used them as a means to an end.  I promise, he is a good man,” Skye promised.  “Look, there was a reason I called.  Shit has kind of hit the fan here, and there’s a possibility we might need to call in backup.  I wanted you to know that I was okay, so there wouldn’t be as much of a shock if I did call you.”

“Thanks for letting us know, Skye,” Coulson replied, his head nodding.  “I will try to get in touch with the Avengers soon, but if there is something big going on, a proper reunion might have to wait.”

“Understandable,” she agreed.

There was a knock on her door, and she looked up to see Steve sticking his head in.  “We found something you might want to see.”

“I’ll be right there,” she assured him, waiting until had left before glancing back down at the tablet.  “I need to go.  I’ll try to keep in touch, but if not, know that I’m safe with the Avengers.  They consider me one of their own, even if it’s still new.”

“I trust you.  We all do,” Coulson voiced, the rest of the team nodding in agreement.  “Take care of yourself.”

“I will,” she promised.  “Bye guys.”  With that, she ended the call and took a deep breath before stowing her tablet away and heading out to meet with the rest of the team.

The words Steve said as he passed around the tablet resonated in her mind.   _Ultron killed Strucker._  Her mission while an asset to Hydra had been to protect the man, and now he was dead.  It had been her last mission, and with him gone, she felt like the weight of that from her brainwashing had finally lifted.  She looked down at the screen, a bit conflicted, before Natasha spoke her name, bringing her back to reality.

“Are you okay?” she asked, causing Skye to pinch her lips together.

“I just can’t believe he’s actually dead,” she admitted.  “I have no further ties to Hydra with his death.”

“Thank god for that,” Clint muttered before the conversation turned back to why Ultron killed Strucker.

They went through paper files, something Skye had never actually done, until they came across something that they could work with.  The brand on the man had been curious, but once “Wakanda” was brought up, Skye’s attention was grasped.

“I don’t follow.  What comes out of Wakanda?” Bruce asked.

“Oh come on, even I know that one,” Skye replied.  Steve and Tony gave her a look, and she merely shrugged her shoulders before briefly explaining, “Rising Tide.”  It didn’t matter much now.  If this man had vibranium, and Ultron got his hands on it, he would be unstoppable.

It wasn’t that hard to track Klaue down, but getting there lasted a bit longer than any of them liked.  Once they arrived, they came up with a game plan and went to work.  In typical Tony fashion, he entered the scene with a snarky quip, Steve and Thor right behind him as she, Clint, and Natasha all snuck in more discreetly.  As she observed the conversation from a distance, she had to keep from gasping when she saw Pietro and Wanda standing beside Ultron.  She knew she had promised to fight beside the Avengers, but she couldn’t hurt them.  She couldn’t hurt her soulmate.

Skye’s heart ached when Pietro made a remark about the bombs, knowing fully well that Tony was not the man the twins thought he was.  She wished she could get Pietro alone so she could explain everything, but from the growing hostility between both sides, she had a feeling she wouldn’t have that chance.  When Ultron attacked Stark, the battle began, and she jumped into action, using her gun and powers to take out Klaue’s men and the other Ultron bots.  She had not yet been seen by Pietro, but when she saw Steve knock him out, she tried to make her way towards him.  Unfortunately, there were a lot of threats along the way, and Pietro was zipping around again before she got to him.  She really did wish she had made herself more known to the twins, because maybe then she wouldn’t have found herself being struck by Wanda’s mind magic.

She gasped as images appeared in her mind, all the while Pietro and Wanda stood before her, in shock that Skye was there in the first place.  As the nightmares haunted her, the ground shook slightly beneath them.  “I do not understand,” he muttered.  “Why is she here?  Why is she working with them?”

“I do not know.  Pietro, I bewitched her.  I did not know she was with them.  I thought she was just someone new,” Wanda apologized, brushing Skye’s hair from her face, which eased away some of the shaking.  “I cannot remove it from her without removing it from the others.”

“What is she seeing, _сестра_?” he asked, looking down at his soulmate with an expression that could only be heartbreak.  This wasn’t how they were supposed to be reunited.  This wasn’t how any of this was supposed to happen.

Wanda focused on Skye’s specific nightmare, her hand moving to her chest in surprise at the images she saw.  “So much sadness.  So much loneliness.  She never felt like she fit in.  She never felt loved.  Every family she found sent her away, made her feel wrong, broke her heart.  Oh Pietro, she has suffered a great deal.”

Pietro’s heart ached for his soulmate, but he could do nothing for her now.  “We must finish the mission.  Go get the archer,” he insisted, moving Skye somewhere safe as Wanda went to find Clint.  “I will find you again, _моја сродна душ_ а.  We will get past this and I will make sure you never feel unloved again,” he promised, kissing her forehead before rushing off when he heard Wanda’s pained gasp.

The two continued with the mission, hitting the Hulk next and setting him loose on the nearby city.  The Avengers would be seen as enemy number one now, not to mention be left reeling from the mind games Wanda had put them through.  The only sorrow they felt towards the team went to Skye, who they both cared for.  Pietro still wondered why she had joined the Avengers, but he had to believe she would be able to explain herself when he came across her again.  He wasn’t sure he would be able to live with his soulmate as his enemy.

* * *

 _сестра_ \- sister

 _моја сродна душа_ \- my soulmate  



	6. Picking Up The Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes to a safe house to recover from Wanda's mind games and the hits they took at the Salvage Yard, then gets an inspiring speech from a familiar face. Meanwhile, the Maximoffs learn the truth about Ultron's motives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like total shit today but after the gap of not posting this past weekend, I refused to let the schedule get messed up again. I might sit down and try to write out a few more chapters, but I still have plenty already written that nothing should affect this schedule for a while. I am still looking to find out what sort of plots from the show you guys are interested in seeing incorporated into this fic, or if there is anything else you want to see. It will help me decide how long to let this story go on and when would be a good time to end it. Leave a review below with any requests you might have and I'll do my best to make them happen :)
> 
> As always, the characters and some of the plot/dialogue belongs to Marvel. Everything else comes from my own imagination. Thanks again to ozhawk for encouraging this writing endeavor!

As the Avengers sat on the plane, they were all completely silent.  Tony and Clint were the only ones that had made it out of there without having their minds messed with by Wanda, and the games she had played had taken their toll.  Bruce was curled up on the floor, off by himself and suffering from the guilt of the damage he had caused.  Steve was seated, avoiding looking at anyone, grief clear on his face as he closed his eyes.  Thor was a bundle of nerves, the visions that had haunted him still shaking him up even after they had ended.  Natasha sported a stoic expression, but there was pain in her eyes that no one had ever really seen before.  Then there was Skye, who was staring out the window, tears rolling down her cheeks as the pain of constantly being abandoned echoed within her.  They all had their demons, and it was going to be a long road back to the strong unit they had been.

By the time they landed, morning had come, and everyone but Clint and Natasha was confused as to where they were.  They walked up the stairs, assuming that it was just a simple safe house that was commonplace in SHIELD, but when they went inside, it became evident that the home was much more than that.

“Honey?” Clint called out as he led the group inside.  “I’m home.”  A very pregnant woman came around the corner, placing some children’s art down as she walked over to him.  “Hi.  Company.  Sorry, didn’t call ahead.”  She simply smiled and greeted him, then kissed him sweetly and hugged him tightly.

“This is an agent of some kind,” Tony remarked.

“Guys, this is Laura,” Clint introduced.

Laura smiled and waved, then joked, “I know all of your names.”  Her eyes landed on Skye, then shifted to Clint before adding, “Well, except yours.”

“I’m Skye,” she replied, lifting her hand in a small wave as she smiled back at her.  “I’m new.”

Footsteps came rushing towards them and they all looked towards the doorway to watch two small children enter the room.  Confusion crossed over everyone’s expressions as they took in the sight that was clearly a father reuniting with his kids.

“These are… smaller agents,” Tony theorized, pointing at the scene dubiously.

Clint explained why no one knew about his family, and Skye couldn’t help but smile.  Nice to know there was at least one secret Fury had that was for the best.  As Thor walked outside with Steve right behind him, Skye took a moment to meet Clint’s kids.

“You know, I never would have pegged you for the dad type,” she admitted, teasing him a bit.

“Hey, we all put on masks when we’re at work.  Some are more transparent than others,” he shrugged.

Once again, the group broke off on their own.  Clint joined Laura upstairs, Nat and Bruce went to one of the many bedrooms to get cleaned off, and Tony and Steve ventured outside.  Skye decided to get some fresh air out back, needing to find her center again.  She knew she couldn’t lose control, especially when doing so could bring this whole house down around them.  Sitting on the porch, she attempted to meditate, thinking back to when times were simpler.  She found her center, and just in time too, because not too long after she did, the Barton kids had joined her on the porch.

“What are you doing?” Lila asked, seeing her sitting on the porch.

“I’m meditating,” she replied, standing up from where she was and dusting herself off.

“Isn’t that what, like, ninjas do?” Cooper asked, picking at the paint on the porch railing.

“Sometimes,” she nodded, laughing softly.  “But I’m not a ninja.”

“No, you’re an Avenger.  That’s even cooler,” Cooper exclaimed, Lila nodding rapidly.

“Yeah, it is pretty cool,” she agreed, smiling happily.  Clint joined them then, and took the kids off to work on the porch.  Skye watched them walk away, then decided to head upstairs to the room she had been assigned for a nap.

Several hours later, she was woken up by an energetic Lila, who then tugged her downstairs for dinner.  When she arrived, she was surprised to find Nick Fury standing in the kitchen.  “Director Fury,” she greeted.

“I’m not director anymore, but you already knew that, Skye,” he replied, flashing a quick grin.

“Yes, I did, sir,” she nodded, managing a small smile of her own.

“Maria filled me in on your situation.  I’m glad that, out of everyone in the world, one of Coulson’s was the one that got a gift like yours.”

She was surprised by that, but bowed her head as she smiled before replying, “Thank you, sir.”  This was something she would definitely have to share with her SHIELD friends later.  For now, she was starving.  It was easy to follow the conversation as she ate, finding it still very strange that the former Director of SHIELD was casually sharing a meal with her.  Then again, she had a feeling it wasn’t all that strange when considering she was with the Avengers.

“Is he still after launch codes?” Tony asked.

“Yes he is, but he’s not making any headway,” Fury stated, cutting up some vegetables.

“I cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare,” Tony commented, a question there about what was causing Ultron to struggle getting the launch codes.

“And here I thought I was the only one,” Skye added jokingly, causing Tony to chuckle a bit.

“Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that,” Fury began, before Steve interrupted asking what Nexus was.

“It’s the world internet hub in Oslo,” Bruce explained.  “Every byte of data flows through there.  Fastest access on Earth.”

“Man, what I wouldn’t give to have five minutes there,” Skye muttered, this time eliciting a small smirk from Fury.  Learning about the codes being changed with no idea who was changing them was a bit unnerving, but it also comforted her to know they had someone on their side.  Hopefully that someone would remain on their side and keep Ultron out for good.

“I might need to visit Oslo,” Tony suggested.  “Find our unknown.  Maybe take the new girl with me so she can have some fun for a change.”

“I would love you forever if you did that,” Skye replied, smiling brightly.

Nick Fury’s speech, not only stirred some hope and courage in all of them, but it helped Bruce understand what Ultron was planning.  Evolving, and making an actual body with the vibranium, was something none of them could have previously anticipated.  It was unprecedented, but in Ultron’s twisted mind, it was the next logical step.  Steve, Clint, and Natasha were to go and stop him, while she and Tony were headed to the Nexus.  Hopefully they would be able to stop Frankenstein from creating his monster and simultaneously bring their ally into the light.

In Oslo, Skye stood back and watched Tony for a bit, a little amazed to watch such a genius at work, but she had some ideas of her own.  “Move over,” she requested, taking over one of the computers he was working on and typing away.  “Alright, buddy, come to mama.”

* * *

As the new body was being created, Wanda moved closer, curious now that she could read his mind.  Read _Ultron’s_ mind.  She had not been able to before, and she was very interested in learning what the robot’s true motives were.  What she found was terrifying, and she cried out until Pietro pulled her close, worrying over her like he always did.

“How could you?”

“How could I what?” Ultron replied.

“You said we would destroy the Avengers, make a better world,” she started.

“It will be better,” Ultron countered.

“When everyone is dead?” she asked.  Ultron’s replies only drove home the idea she had already come to the conclusion of.  He could not be trusted, and he was not going to give them what they wanted.  He might destroy the Avengers, but there was no way they would get Skye if they let Ultron proceed with his plan.  The twins had a new enemy now.  Ultron was not the lesser of two evils as they had hoped.  He was the greatest evil around, and there was only one real way they had a chance of taking him down.  After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave some feedback in the reviews below and be sure to leave kudos too! It keeps the muse flowing :) Have a nice day and stay awesome!


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